System and Method for Directional Control of Flame Effects

ABSTRACT

A system and method for directional control of generating flame effects. The system includes a flame effect generator having a nozzle and an igniter configured to ignite a flammable substance ejected from the nozzle to generate a flame effect. The system also includes an adjustable mounting system supporting at least a portion of the flame effect generator to directionally control a trajectory of the flame effect.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/421,603 filed Jun. 1, 2006, and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR GENERATING FLAME EFFECTS.”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a system and method forcontrolling the directional output of flame effects and, morespecifically, to a system and method for dynamically controlling thedirection of flame effects.

Effects systems are commonly used in a variety of entertainmentenvironments. For example, some effects systems are individuallydesigned for the filming of feature films and television programs whileother systems are found in stage shows and at amusement parks that seekto repeatedly generate a realistic recreation of specific events.

One common effect utilized in both types of effects systems is a flameeffect that is typically generated by ejecting and igniting a volatileand combustible liquid or gas along a desired path. For example, U.S.Pat. No. 5,756,920, which is commonly assigned to Sigma Services, Inc.,discloses a system that pressurizes propane into a liquid state and,using a regulator, permits a portion of the propane to escape through anozzle where it encounters a pilot flame and is ignited to generate amushroom-shaped flame. In this regard, the resulting flame yields theappearance of an explosion and is often used in action scene simulationscommonly found at amusement parks and various stage shows.

However, while these systems provide a highly accurate simulation ofexplosive flames, additional features are desired in some settings thatare difficult and/or costly to achieve with these systems. For example,the nozzle and pilot flame are typically arranged in a burner unit thatis designed to be incorporated into a larger structural design, such asa stage or simulated environment, using stationary mounting systems. Inthis regard, the flame effect is generated from a static point, which,when used to simulate large explosions or fires, can yield a somewhatunrealistic simulation.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method fordynamically controlling a flame effect to better simulate explosions andfires and to provide improved design flexibility.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks byproviding a system and method for moving and controlling the directionaloutput of a flame effect system. The present invention includes amotorized yoke that can be remotely controlled to move the position ofthe output of a flame effect system over a dynamic range.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a system for generatingflame effects is disclosed that includes a flame effect generator havinga nozzle and an igniter. The flame effect generator is configured toignite a flammable substance ejected from the nozzle to generate a flameeffect. The system also includes an adjustable mounting systemsupporting at least a portion of the flame effect generator todirectionally control a trajectory of the flame effect.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method forcontrolling generation of flame effects is disclosed that includesdelivering a fuel to one or more nozzles configured to direct the fueltoward an igniter and sparking the igniter to ignite the fuel andgenerate a flame effect. The method also includes adjusting a positionof at least the nozzle to control a trajectory of the flame effect overtime.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a system forgenerating flame effects is disclosed that includes a burner configuredto ignite a flammable substance passed thereby to generate a flameeffect. The system also includes an adjustable mounting systemsupporting at least a portion of the burner to adjust a trajectory ofthe flame effect over time.

Various other features of the present invention will be made apparentfrom the following detailed description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is hereby made to the following drawings in which likereference numerals correspond to like elements throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pumping system in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a burner system in accordance with thepresent invention that is designed to receive a material for combustionfrom the pumping system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the pumping and/or burnersystems of FIGS. 1 and 2 supported on an adjustable mounting systemdesigned to dynamically control a trajectory of a flame effect generatedby the systems of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a pumping system 10 inaccordance with the present invention is shown. The pumping system 10includes a high pressure pump 12 that draws a high flash point liquid 13from a reservoir 14 through a filter 15. As used herein, “high flashpoint liquid” refers to a material that is a liquid under atmosphericpressure and room temperatures and becomes flammable when it issubjected to “high temperatures”, such as temperatures greater than 100degrees Fahrenheit. A check valve 16 is included to selectively isolatethe pump 12 and the reservoir 14 from the remainder of the pumpingsystem 10. In this regard, a bypass hose 18 is included that may beopened via a ball valve 20. Downstream from the check valve 16 is anormally closed two-way solenoid valve 22 followed by a manifold 24through which a high-pressure switch 26 and a gauge 28 are connected.Further downstream, a plurality of ball valves 30, 32, 34 are arrangedto isolate individual sections of the pumping system 10. In particular,the valve 30 may be utilized to isolate the previously-described sectionof the pumping system 10 that includes the pump 12 from an accumulatorloop 36 and a burner head supply line 38. Additionally or alternatively,the valves 32, 34 may be utilized to selectively isolate thepreviously-described section of the pumping system 10 including themotor 12 from one of the accumulator loop 36 or the burner head supplyline 38.

The accumulator loop 36 includes an accumulator 40, preferably in theform of a bladder accumulator, that may be isolated from a remainder ofthe accumulator loop 36 via the valve 34. Downstream of the accumulator40 and the valve 34 are a normally open two-way relief solenoid valve 42and a gauge 44 designed to relieve pressure in the accumulator loop 36as the high flash point liquid 13 collected in the accumulator 40 isdelivered back to the reservoir 14. Additionally, all pressure in theburner head supply line 38 will be relieved upon removing power to therelief valve 42.

Referring now to the burner head supply line 38, a regulator 46 isincluded having, for example, a 4,000 pound per square inch (psi)maximum pressure inlet and a pressure gauge 48 designed to indicate thepressure at the regulator 46. Downstream of the regulator 46 is a lowpressure switch 50. As will be described in detail below, a controlpanel 52 is included to control the pumping system 50.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a burner system 54 is shown that is alsocontrolled by the control panel 52 and designed to receive the highflash point liquid 13 pumped from the pumping system 10 of FIG. 1. Theburner system 54 includes a plurality of burner heads 56, 58, 60. Itshould be noted that, in order to simplify the description of the burnersystem 54, only three burner heads 56, 58, 60 are shown. However, it iscontemplated that a large array of burner heads, for example, ten ormore, may be included in the burner system 54.

An additional accumulator 61 may be included that along with the highflash point liquid 13 delivered via the burner head supply line 38,delivers the high flash point liquid 13 through a filter 62 and a ballvalve 64 associated with each burner head 56, 58, 60. A normally closedsolenoid valve 66 is arranged as a last barrier to the high flash pointliquid 13 before passing beside a housing 68 of the burner heads 56, 58,60. Along side each burner head housing 68, a nozzle 70 is arrangedwithin an expelling port 72 so as to align an orifice 74 of nozzle 70with an igniter 76 that is also disposed with the expelling port 72. Theigniter 76 includes a pair of electrodes 78 arranged in a configurationcommonly found in spark plug systems, such as utilized in automobilesand the like. Also, an optical sensor 80 and relay 82 that form anignition verification sensor 83 are at least partially arranged withineach burner head housing 68. Accordingly, as will be described, theignition verification sensor 83 communicates an ignition confirmationsignal back to the control panel 52 before the control panel 52 opensthe valve 66.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, in operation, the pumping system 10 andthe burner system 54 are controlled via the control panel 52. It shouldbe noted that the control panel 52 may include multiple interfaces forindependently controlling and operating the components of the pumpingsystem 10 and the burner system 54. Also, the control panel 52 may bespecifically designed to control the pumping system 10 and the burnersystem 54 alone or may be part of a larger effects system to controllights, sounds, and the like.

In either case, when initiated via the control panel 52, the pump 12draws the high flash point liquid 13 from the reservoir 14 through thefilter 15. According to one embodiment, the high flash point liquid 13is designed to remain in the liquid state under normal atmosphericpressures and at normal operating temperatures. Hence, the high flashpoint liquid 13 is drawn from reservoir 14 and is pumped under pressuretoward the check valve 16. It is contemplated that the check valve 16may be designed to operate under pressures between 0 psi and 3,000 psias the pumping system 10 is designed to pump the high flash point liquid13 under pressures of, for example, approximately 500 psi, but up topressures in excess of 11,500 psi. Should the bypass valve 20 betripped, the high flash point liquid 13 drawn by the pump 12 will bepermitted to flow past the bypass valve 20 through the bypass hose 18and back into the reservoir 14.

Under normal operating conditions, the high flash point liquid 13 willpass through the check valve 16 toward the normally closed two-waysolenoid valve 22. In this regard, the normally closed two-way solenoidvalve 22 may be controlled via the control panel 52 to halt the flow ofthe high flash point liquid 13 from the reservoir 14. Accordingly, aswill be described, the normally closed two-way solenoid valve 22 servesas one of numerous isolation valves for both the pumping system 10 andthe burner system 54.

Under normal operating conditions, the normally closed two-way solenoidvalve 22 will permit the high flash point liquid 13 to continue to themanifold 24. Associated with the manifold 24 are the high pressureswitch 26 and the gauge 28, which is designed to indicate the pressuresensed by the high pressure switch 26. The high pressure switch 26,according to one embodiment, is designed to have a normal operatingrange of approximately 180 psi to 3000 psi. Accordingly, the gauge 28,according to one embodiment, has an operating range of 0 psi to 3,000psi with 50 psi increments indicated thereon. Therefore, shouldoperating conditions reach an excess of 2000 psi, via the gauge 28, thehigh pressure switch 26 will indicate an excessive operating pressureand the high pressure switch 26 will provide a signal to the controlpanel 52 that, in turn, provides an alarm to the user by way of, forexample, an audible or light-based alarm signal. Substantiallysimultaneously therewith, the normally closed two-way solenoid valve 22will be automatically closed and the normally open two-way solenoidrelief valve 42 will open in order to remedy the excessive operatingpressure via the accumulator loop 36 back to the reservoir 14.

Generally, excessive operating pressures will not occur, and the highflash point liquid 13 will pass through the manifold 24 and the ballvalve 30 where it will be stored in the accumulator 40. The accumulator40, for example, a ten gallon bladder accumulator, is designed toreceive excess high flash point liquid 13 that, as will be described,may not be consumed during the generation of effects flames. This excesshigh flash point liquid 13 can then be utilized in subsequent firings.

The ball valve 34 shall always be opened during operation, whereby thehigh flash point liquid 13 can pass through the normally open two-waysolenoid relief valve 4:2 into the accumulator relief loop 36 back tothe reservoir 14 when necessary. For example, it may be desirable toallow the high flash point liquid 13 to pass through the normally opentwo-way solenoid relief valve 42 into the accumulator relief loop 36back to the reservoir 14 when an over pressurization is indicated by thehigh pressure switch 26 or in the case of an emergency shut-offsituation, as indicated at control panel 52. By reading the gauge 44,the operator can determine when all pressure has been removed from thesystem.

However, under normal flame effects generating operation, the ball valve34 will remain open and the normally open two-way solenoid relief valve42 will remain energized, which closes off the accumulator relief loop36 in favor of the ball valve 32. Accordingly, the high flash pointliquid 13 will flow along the burner head supply line 38B and throughthe regulator 46. According to one embodiment, the regulator 46 has anoperating range of approximately 0 psi to 2,000 psi with a maximum inletpsi of 4,000. After passing the regulator 46, the high flash pointliquid 13 is monitored by the low pressure switch 50. According to oneembodiment, the low pressure switch 50 has an operating range ofapproximately 30 psi to 600 psi. Accordingly, should the pressure alongthe the burner supply line 38 drop below a desirable pressure, asdetermined by the low pressure switch 50, the control panel 52 willremove the power supplied to all of the burner heads 56, 58, 60 untilthe low pressure condition can be remedied.

Under normal operating conditions, the high flash point liquid 13 willcontinue to flow along the burner supply path 38 and into the burnersystem 54 of FIG. 2 where it will be additionally accumulated within theaccumulator 61. According to one embodiment, the accumulator 61 is afive gallon bladder accumulator designed to collect additional highflash point liquid 13 in order to maintain a higher volume of the highflash point liquid 13. The high flash point liquid 13 pumped by thepumping system 10 into the accumulators 40, 61 is passed through afilter 62 on its way to each burner head 56, 58, 60. As previouslydescribed, following each filter 62 is a ball valve 64 that allows eachburner head 56, 58, 60 to be independently isolated by manuallyactuating the ball valve 64. However, if manual actuation is not desiredor in order to operate the burner system according to a preset orpredefined sequence of firings, the normally closed two-way solenoidvalve 66 is controlled by the control panel 52 to permit or prohibit theflow of high flash point liquid 13 pumped toward the expelling port 72.

It is contemplated that the control panel 52 may be located remotelyfrom the other components of the system. Furthermore, it is contemplatedthat the control panel may be part of a DMX control console, or thelike. The ability to pump the high flash point liquid 13 undersustainable conditions for significant periods of time while beingindependently supplied to various burner heads 56, 58, 60 within theburner system 54 allows for numerous, for example, hundreds, ofindependently initiated and coordinated flames or explosions to beexpelled through the expelling ports 72.

According to one embodiment, the normally closed two-way solenoid valve66 is designed to have an operating pressure of approximately 1,100 psisuch that the high flash point liquid 13 enters the nozzle 70 undersubstantial pressure. In this regard, the high flash point liquid 13 isforced through the orifice 74 at such a rate and pressure that it iseither atomized or vaporized. Accordingly, it is contemplated that thehigh flash point liquid 13, when either atomized or vaporized, enters avolatile state such that it will be ignitable when exposed to a sparkgenerated by the igniter 76.

In this regard, according to one embodiment, the high flash point liquid13 is a material commercially available as Isopar. Isopar is aregistered trademark owned by Exxon Mobile Corporation of Texas.Specifically, the high flash point liquid 13 may be any of the Isopartypes, for example, Isopar type G. By utilizing Isopar, the high flashpoint liquid 13 may be forced through a nozzle 70 at pressures ofapproximately 500 psi and still be sufficiently atomized or vaporized soas to enter a volatile state to be, preferably, completely consumed bythe explosion resulting from exposure to a spark formed between theelectrodes 78 of the burner 76.

In order to achieve substantially complete consumption of the high flashpoint liquid 13 under pressures as low as 500 psi, it is contemplatedthat the orifice 74 may be sized from approximately 1/16 of an inch to1/32 of an inch. In this regard, it is contemplated that since, as willbe described, each burner head 56, 58, 60 can be independently suppliedwith the high flash point liquid 13, varying orifice sizes may beutilized across the burner system 54 to generate various flame orexplosion sizes and heights, for example, from between a few feet totens of feet. To provide further flexibility, it is contemplated thatthe nozzle 70 may be an interchangeable nozzle, such that varyingorifices may be presented throughout the burner system 54.

To also improve combustion, the burner 76 is separated from the nozzle70 by a propagation distance 79 selected to allow the high flash pointliquid 13 to be sufficiently dispersed before being exposed to theelectrodes 78 of the burner 76. That is, if the propagation distance 79is too short, a portion of the high flash point liquid 13 will not havebeen sufficiently atomized or vaporized when reaching the electrodes 78of the burner 76 and will not be ignited. On the other hand, if thepropagation distance 79 is too long, the high flash point liquid 13 willhave spread too far apart and a quantity of the atomized or vaporizedhigh flash point liquid 13 will pass too far away from the burner 76 tobe ignited by the electrodes 78. In accordance with one embodiment, apropagation distance 79 of approximately 6 inches is selected.

As a further check against undesired operating conditions, prior to thenormally closed two-way solenoid valve 66 allowing the high flash pointliquid 13 to enter an associated burner head 56, 58, 60, the igniter 76is caused to generate a spark that can be detected by the optical sensor80 to verify that, when atomized or vaporized, the high flash pointliquid 13 is expelled through the orifice 74 of the nozzle 70, it willbe properly ignited. That is, the optical sensor 80 is arranged tomonitor the gap between the electrodes 78 of the burner 76, and uponsensing an ultra violet light increase within the expelling ports 72indicative of an ignition spark, sends a signal to the relay 82. Therelay 82, in turn, sends an ignition confirmation signal to the controlpanel 52. As such, the burner system 54 is controlled via the controlpanel 52 to preclude the high flash point liquid 13 from even entering aburner head 56, 58, 60 when the igniter 76 has not been energized or hasfailed to produce a spark.

Accordingly, the burner system 54 is highly modular such that a supplyof high flash point liquid 13 to any of the burner heads 56, 58, 60 canbe independently controlled, maintained, and operated, according topreset safety protocol, predesigned display patterns, and/or manuallyactuated firing sequences. In this regard, it is contemplated that thecontrol panel 52 may control the normally closed two-way solenoid valve66 according to a DMX-512 protocol. In particular, a remotely locatedDMX control console including the control panel 52 controls the normallyclosed two-way solenoid valve 66 to open using a DMX-512 protocol signalonly after the optical sensor 80 and the relay 82 have provided apositive indication or confirmation that a spark has been generatedbetween the electrodes 78 of the burner 76.

It is contemplated that the pumping system 10 and the burner system 54may be incorporated into a permanent or semi-permanent installation,such as a stage for live acting or an amusement ride. Furthermore, it iscontemplated that the pumping system 10 and the burner system 54 may bearranged in a mobile installation to be readily transported. In thisregard, the pumping system 10 and the burner system 54 may be utilizedin touring arrangements, such as touring stage shows.

To provide additional flexibility in design and operation, it iscontemplated that the above-described system may be accompanied by adirectional control system. Referring now to FIG. 3, components of thepumping system 10 and, in particular, the burner system 54 of FIGS. 1and 2 may be supported on an adjustable mounting system 90 designed todynamically control a trajectory of a flame effect. For example, ahousing 91 may be supported by the mounting system 90 that includes oneor more burner heads and associated components, such as the valves,nozzles, and igniters, described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.The adjustable mounting system 90 may have a variety of configurationsdesigned to control the trajectory of flame effects generated by theabove-described system or other flame effects systems. For example, oneadjustable mounting system that includes a variety of the features thatwill be described below is the ARC Video System available from Spotlightsrl of Milan, Italy.

The adjustable mounting system 90 includes a yoke 92 configured torotate about a first rotational axis 94. The adjustable mounting system90 also includes a mounting plate 96 supported by the yoke 92 that, asshown, is designed to support the housing 91 mounted thereon, andconfigured to rotate about a second rotational axis 98. As illustrated,the first rotational axis 94 and second rotational axis 98 areperpendicular to one another such that rotation of the yoke 92 about thefirst rotational axis 94 provides a panning movement and rotation of themounting plate 96 about the second rotational axis 98 provides a tiltmovement.

In accordance with one embodiment, the yoke 92 is configured to rotateapproximately 360 degrees about the first rotational axis 94 and themounting plate 96 is configured to rotate approximately 180 degreesabout the second rotational axis 98. To facilitate this motion, it iscontemplated that the burner head supply line 38 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may bedesigned to be external to the body of the yoke 92 by extending up intothe yoke 92 along the first axis of rotation 94. In this regard, toallow full motion of the yoke 92 about 360 degrees of rotation, theburner head supply line (not shown) may include swivel joints thatpermit the yoke 92 to freely rotate about the first axis 94 withoutdamaging the supply line. Similarly, to allow the mounting plate 96 torotate freely, the burner head supply line 38 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may bedesigned to extend from the body of the yoke 92 onto the mounting plate96 along the second rotational axis 98 by way of additional swiveljoints.

As described above, the housing 91, as well as the nozzle 70 andelectrodes 78 extending from the housing 91, are supported by themounting plate 96 to create a flame effect trajectory 99 extendingtherefrom. By rotating the yoke 92 about the first rotational axis 94and the mounting plate 96 about the second rotational axis 98, the flameeffect trajectory 99 is likewise adjusted through both panning and tiltmovements. By combining the panning and tilt movements, a high degree ofmotion is possible. In particular, the flame effect trajectory 99 can becontrolled to move through two degrees of freedom to create a widevariety of movements and patterns.

To coordinate these movements, in accordance with one embodiment, theyoke 92 is supported by a controller 100 that is configured toautomatically control rotation of the yoke 92 and the mounting plate 96.The controller 100 is configured to communicate and receive functionalcommands from remote control systems or other control devices. Forexample, in accordance with one embodiment, the controller 100 isconfigured to receive commands through a DMX-512 digital signal that isreceived through a DMX connector port 102 and, if necessary,retransmitted via a DMX connector relay port 104. Accordingly, thecontroller 100 can receive commands from a remote controller, such asthe control panel 52 described above, through the DMX connector port 102and can relay commands to additional adjustable mounting systems 90 viathe DMX connector relay port 104. Alternatively, it is contemplated thata variety of other network protocols may be used to communicatefunctional control commands. In any case, the controller 100 can beconfigured to control the adjustable mounting system 90 to automaticallyadjust the trajectory 99 of the flame effect according to apredetermined sequence or can be manually controlled from a remotelocation. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the controller 100 may beseparate from or integrated with the above-described control panel 52.

As shown, the adjustable mounting system 90 may be mounted to extend upfrom a floor 105 or other horizontal surface. In this arrangement, abase plate 106 is included to fix the adjustable mounting system 90 tothe floor 105. However, it is contemplated that the adjustable mountingsystem 90 may be configured to hang from a truss or pipe or may bemounted to extend horizontally from a vertically extending pole or otherfixture.

Therefore, a system and method for generating flame effects is createdutilizing a pumping system and burning system having a plurality ofvalve points configured to feed a material that is combustible whenatomized or vaporized to an array of independently controllable burners.In accordance with one embodiment, the material is Isopar G, which canbe sufficiently atomized or vaporized to substantially prevent fallout(i.e., liquid not completely consumed by the combustion of the highflash point fluid 13) by passing it through an orifice of approximately1/16 of an inch at pressures as low as 500 psi.

A controller is provided that controls the elements of the pumpingsystem and burner system according to preset safety protocol. A controlconsole is provided that has been programmed with predetermined firingpatterns, and/or manually actuated firing patterns. To this end, asensor system is arranged to confirm proper ignition of an igniter ineach burner prior to the controller allowing any atomized or vaporizedmaterial to be ejected from the system. As such, a sustainable patternof firings mapped to a desired sequence is achievable under conditionscompliant with various safety standards such as National Fire ProtectionAct 160. To further control operation of the system, a variety ofadditional valves and switches may be included. In this regard, thesystem may automatically isolate portions of the flow path upondetection of low or high pressure conditions.

Additionally, a system and method for directional control of a flameeffects system is provided. The burner systems and, optionally, thepumping systems of a flame effect system are mounted on a motorizedmount that allows the flame generated by the system to be pannedapproximately 360 degrees and tilted approximately 180 degrees. Inparticular, the motorized yoke system provides two degrees of freedom,including pan and tilt.

Thus, the system produces flame effects that can be moved about twoaxes. The system can be controlled using a remote control unit and thatenable multiple systems to operate in a coordinated manner to generatean entire “dancing flame” show. The control system allows the positionand firing direction to be controlled and/or pre-programmed veryprecisely. Accordingly, a variety of patterns and movements can beachieved. Programmable position limits can be set that prevent thesystem from moving the flame in an undesirable location. The limits canbe used to control the movement of the flame regardless of user positioninputs from the remote control system.

The above-described system and method will greatly increase theusability and creativity of flame effects. For example, the system andmethod can be used to generate flame effects that move through patternsor “sweeps” during the firing cycle. Previously, a user could only turnthe flame effect on and off. Now, a user has the freedom of movement inaddition to whether or not the flame is firing during the movement.

The present invention has been described in terms of the preferredembodiment, and it should be appreciated that many equivalents,alternatives, variations, and modifications, aside from those expresslystated, are possible and within the scope of the invention. Therefore,the invention should not be limited to a particular describedembodiment.

1. A system for generating flame effects comprising: a flame effectgenerator having a nozzle and an igniter configured to ignite aflammable substance ejected from the nozzle to generate a flame effect;and an adjustable mounting system supporting at least a portion of theflame effect generator to directionally control a trajectory of theflame effect.
 2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a controlsystem configured to control the adjustable mounting system toautomatically adjust the trajectory of the flame effect.
 3. The systemof claim 2 wherein the control system is programmed to control theadjustable mounting system according to a predetermined sequence toadjust the trajectory of the flame effect.
 4. The system of claim 1wherein the adjustable mounting system includes at least one yokeconfigured to rotate about a first rotational axis and mounting platesupported by the yoke and configured to rotate about a second rotationalaxis.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the yoke is configured to rotateapproximately 360 degrees about the first rotational axis and themounting plate is configured to rotate approximately 180 degrees aboutthe second rotational axis.
 6. The system of claim 4 wherein therotation of the yoke about the first rotational axis pans the trajectoryof the flame effect with respect to a static position and rotation ofthe mounting plate about the second rotational axis tilts the trajectoryof the flame effect with respect to the static position.
 7. The systemof claim 4 wherein the first rotational axis and the second rotationalaxis are perpendicular.
 8. The system of claim 4 wherein the nozzle andthe igniter are supported by the mounting plate.
 9. The system of claim1 wherein the adjustable mounting system provides two degrees of freedomthrough which to directionally control the trajectory of the flameeffect.
 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an array of burnerheads, each having an igniter configured to generate an ignition spark;a reservoir containing a high flash point liquid; a pump configured todraw the high flash point liquid from the reservoir and pump it underhigh pressure to the array of burner heads; a solenoid valve arranged ateach burner in the array of burner heads to control a flow of the highflash point liquid through each burner head; a nozzle arranged at eachburner head to convert the high flash point liquid to a combustibleform; a sensor arranged at each burner head to generate an ignitionconfirmation signal upon detecting the ignition spark at the igniter; acontroller programmed to independently control each valve to control theflow of the high flash point liquid to the burner based on the ignitionconfirmation signal to generate a flame effect; a plurality of yokesconfigured to rotate about a first rotational axis and respectivemounting plates supported by the yokes and configured to rotate about asecond rotational axis; and wherein each of the burner heads in thearray of burner heads is supported by respective mounting plates andyokes configured to directionally control a trajectory of the flameeffect
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to only allow the flow of the high flash point liquid to theburner when an ignition confirmation signal has been received from thesensor monitoring the burner.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein thecontroller is further configured to control movement of the plurality ofyokes and support plates about the first and second rotational axes toadjust the trajectory of the flame effect.
 13. The system of claim 10further comprising a flame safeguard control module configured toprohibit the flow of the high flash point liquid to the burner unlessthe ignition confirmation signal is received from the sensor monitoringthe burner.
 14. A method for controlling generation of flame effectscomprising: delivering a fuel to at least one nozzle configured todirect the fuel toward an igniter; sparking the igniter to ignite thefuel and generate a flame effect; and adjusting a position of at leastthe nozzle to control a trajectory of the flame effect over time. 15.The method of claim 14 wherein the fuel includes a high flash pointliquid and wherein the method further comprises: monitoring the igniterto confirm sparking of the igniter before expelling the high flash pointliquid from the nozzle; and controlling valves associated with thenozzle to only open after sparking of the igniter has been confirmed.16. The method of claim 15 further comprising controlling the valves togenerate the flame effect in compliance with a National Fire ProtectionAct (NFPA) 160 standard.
 17. The method of claim 14 further comprisingat least one of panning and tilting a position of the nozzle withrespect to a static position to control the trajectory of the flameeffect over time.
 18. A system for generating flame effects comprising:a burner configured to ignite a flammable substance passed thereby togenerate a flame effect; and an adjustable mounting system supporting atleast a portion of the burner to adjust a trajectory of the flame effectover time.
 19. The system of claim 18 further comprising a controlsystem configured to control the adjustable mounting system toautomatically adjust the trajectory of the flame effect according to apredetermined sequence.
 20. The system of claim 18 wherein theadjustable mounting system includes at least one yoke configured torotate approximately 360 degrees about a first rotational axis and amounting plate supported by the yoke and configured to rotateapproximately 180 degrees about a second rotational axis, and whereinthe first rotational axis and the second rotational axis areperpendicular to pan the trajectory of the flame effect upon rotationabout the first rotational axis and tilt the trajectory of the flameeffect upon rotation about the second rotational axis.